White Noise
by FUlyric
Summary: Spoilers for FMA: Brotherhood ep. 26/corresponding manga chapter. You wait for something you have forgotten, until one day you get a reminder of who you may have been before.


**_Author's Note: This is my first venture into writing fanfic other than House. But FMA is such a great story with such great characters, how can you resist? And how great is the Brotherhood series?! _**

**_Disclaimer: I obviously don't own FMA (manga or animes), and this is for entertainment purposes only. _**

**_Spoilers for Episode 26 of FMA: Brotherhood and its corresponding manga chapter; written in second-person POV._**

* * *

You sit and wait. Patient, unwavering. That is what you're supposed to do, as you vaguely stare at the great Doors in front of you. You know it will come, though truthfully, you have been waiting so long, you're not sure what you are waiting for anymore. And yet you feel certain you'll know it when you see it.

You ignore the discomfort. It's not quite pain you feel – a little gnawing tightness in your belly, the poking sensation of the prominently protruding bones in your pelvis as you sit, an empty tedium that makes the back of your eyes sting. But it all just sort of melds into the whiteness of the space. There is a disconnection within yourself, and the sensations of your body become mere white noise, along with your thoughts and memories. At one point, you remember thinking you didn't have much time left. But time really has no meaning here, so now you don't quite know why you thought that, or why you changed your mind, or if time did exist, if yours would still be running out.

You are aware that you are alive, if this can be called living. If it's not living, then at least you could call it existing. At least you are sure you exist, somewhere, if only in this white haze. But as time has gone on, or stopped, you start to forget. Forget why you're here… what you're waiting for… who you used to be. You occasionally wonder if whatever you are waiting for even remembers you are there, but those thoughts usually fade away into the buzz of your brain.

One day, or year, or moment, something happens. Something outside of the norm. A crashing sound occurs behind you, and you become aware of grunting and groaning. Then a voice drifts over to your ears, asking, "Uh, why are there two doors?" Though the question does not appear to be addressed to anyone in particular, you still feel you know the voice from somewhere. You turn slowly to see the visitor who has invaded your solitude.

Torn clothes, a battered metal arm, long golden hair which resembles your own (you only think of this as your own ragged fair hair hangs down over your eyes), a bruised but boyish face that seems to be from a long-forgotten dream. A pair of golden eyes that notice you, stare at you, and widen in a mixture of stunned realization and urgency. You have been recognized. You know you know this person, but you do not remember how or from where. Suddenly the visitor lurches forward, running towards you as fast as his legs will carry him, determination flaming in his eyes. But of course he cannot outrun the tentacles of the Doorway. As they grab onto the visitor, he bellows, "Al! Al!"

Al… is that your name? Is that person talking to you? The stranger continues, "Al, come here! Hurry and come here! Al!" He pleads with you as he is dragged slowly backwards into the Doorway. You stand up but do not obey the plea. Doesn't this person understand? You respectfully decline the stranger's invitation. "I can't," you say, only later realizing this is the first time in ages since you have heard your own voice. You have never bothered to speak before this, since no one was around to hear you.

The visitor looks at you aghast, and continues the futile struggle against the Door. Feeling the need to explain to the hapless stranger, you say simply, "You're not my soul. I can't go with you."

You see the golden eyes process your statement, and yet he doesn't look like he accepts that reason. The familiar stranger still struggles, still reaches desperately, longingly for you, not wanting the encounter to end. The Doors close between you and him, and you are alone again. Alone in that empty white space. You hang your head, for suddenly, you feel a twinge of loneliness – it has been so long since you saw someone else, since you spoke out loud, since you heard something besides the hum of the void. You also feel pity for that poor person, who seemed to want something so badly, and now must leave, disappointed that he couldn't find it. Well, that was an interesting diversion, but now you must resume your waiting-

_BANG! _Your head jerks up in surprise as you see a metal fist punch its way through those great heavy Doors. That visitor is back, and though he still cannot break free from the Door's grip, it doesn't stop him from trying. You are stunned by his ferocity, by his unwavering effort to reach you in spite of what you told him. The golden-haired boy struggles valiantly and calls out again, "Alphonse! Alphonse!" _Alphonse… _You remember that name… You remember this person saying this name often to you, once upon a time, somewhere outside of this space. "Someday, I promise I'll come back for you! Just you wait!" The Doors begin to close again, but not before that visitor points his metallic finger at you and repeats, "JUST YOU WAIT!" It is a vow, made in fervent sincerity, and with the final slam of the Doors, your awareness begins to become a little sharper.

You find that something strange is happening to your face. The corners of your mouth are lifting a little. It has been a long time, and yet you feel that this action is a natural one for this face. Natural, just too long unused. You contemplate this strange visitor, who seemed to resemble yourself, at least what you know of yourself. How familiar he seemed to be with you. How fiercely he fought his way through those Doors to deliver one final, hopeful promise. How much you actually wanted to go with him when you were called. You search the dusty recesses of your long dormant memory, and dimly a name comes to you. It had often flickered in and out of the part of your mind that is anchored here in your soulless body, but over time it had become somewhat meaningless. Now, you speak it out loud to yourself, for its meaning is becoming a tiny bit clearer in light of this visitor. "_Niisan…_"

_Niisan_ told you to wait. He seemed like the sort of person who would go to great lengths to keep a vow so solemnly made, even if took the better part of a lifetime. So you will continue to wait. Someone knows you're here. Someone wants you back. Perhaps this _Niisan _will return as he has promised. You only wonder how long it will take.

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_Hope you enjoyed this little one-shot about poor Al's Body. This scene from the anime (I had not read this part of the manga yet) was so EPIC, I was almost in tears. I can't wait to hear the dub version. :) Thanks for reading, and I hope to have more FMA stories in the future. _


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